Tyler poured himself a cup of coffee, trying to keep quiet so to not wake Ryder. Tyler didn't sleep much last night, thinking about Mercy while tossing and turning in bed. He felt so stupid; he shouldn't have kissed her last night. He shouldn't have expressed his feelings for her that way. He should have just talked to her. Now whenever she looked at him, she wouldn't see him as her close friend but rather the guy who kissed her and ran away. Now they would lose the friendship that Tyler loved, although he did want to be more than a friend to her.

He had to talk to Mercy, Tyler was thinking when he went outside to sit on the trailer's small porch, despite the cold. Just as Tyler was about to go back inside to get a warm coat, a gunshot sounded, breaking the early morning quiet. Ty immediately jumped up from his seat, jogging in the direction that he had heard the sound come from. From what he had observed, the Southside was a bad neighbourhood but he didn't think there would be guns going off at the crack of dawn! He hoped that no one was hurt. A few more doors opened from trailers around him, people coming to see what the gunshot was about just like him.

Ty heard a whimpering sound in one of the back streets not too far from where he was. Someone was hurt! He saw a figure, curled on of the ground, unconscious. Tyler went around to the front of the body, to check the pulse, making sure they were still alive. As he pulled back the person's hair from their face to put his fingers to their neck, he gasped.

"Mercy!" Tyler exclaimed. "Stay with me, come on. Help! Somebody help!"

Soon a few people came to the rescue, calling an ambulance as the others try to find where the wound was. There was so much blood, it was hard to tell. The sirens of the ambulance sounded not too much later, and Tyler was forced to the side as the paramedics gently lifted his love onto a stretcher. By this time, Ryder had heard the commotion and found Tyler in the midst of it.

Ryder saw his friend, looking so shaken, standing as close to the scene as he could. Ryder came up beside him. "Ty, what is it?" Ryder asked gently. "Why are you so shaken?"

"It's Mercy," Tyler choked out, his tone rich with emotion. "She got shot."

Ryder swore under his breath. "Did anyone see who did it?" he growled out. He was going to catch this manic if it was the last thing he did.

"No, I don't think so, but we need to tell JB, let her know to meet us at the hospital."

"I'll do that," Ty patted his friend's shoulder. "I'll be right back."

Walking over to a quieter place, he dialed JB's number.

"Hello?" Her groggy voice sounded through the phone.

"Hey J, it's me."

"Why are you calling this early? It's like not even 6."

"J, it's Mercy," Ryder told her gently. "She's been shot."

"What?!" JB was wide awake now. "Is she ok?"

"I think so. She headed to the hospital in an ambulance right now."

"I'll meet you there."

...oOo…

When I arrived at the hospital, I saw Ryder sitting in the waiting area, and Tyler pacing the expanse of the room. I rushed over to them, Alice and Betty on my heels.

"How's Mercy?" I asked them.

"She's in surgery and the doctors won't tell us anything," Tyler told us. "We don't even know where she was shot."

I let out a breath, knowing that the waiting entitled for the next few hours would be the death of me.

... oOo...

Just like I had suspected, it was hours later when the doctor came to talk to us. In that time I had called Mercy's parents and they were on their way to Riverdale, and Toni and Cheryl had come to wait with us at the hospital.

"How is she?" Tyler frantically asked the doctor.

"She's alive," he assured us. We all let out a collective breath. "She's out of surgery but it will be awhile before she regains consciousness."

"Can I see her?" Tyler questioned.

"Are you family?" the doctor looked Tyler up and down.

"He's her best friend," I spoke up. "And her family isn't here yet."

"Fine," the doctor motioned to the corridor. "She's in room 14."

Tyler ran off in the direction he directed, and the doctor turned back to us. "She was shot in the arm, just below her shoulder, and she fractured her wrist when she supposedly fell. Same arm for both injuries. She'll be alright. She seems like a fighter."

"She is," I mumbled. I looked up at the entrance as Mercy parents walked in.

"Where's my baby?" Mrs Burnett asked me, putting her hands on my shoulders and pulling me into a bear hug. "Is she alright?"

"Mercy's going to alright," I relay what the doctor had just told us to Mercy's parents. They both let out a sigh of relief. "We thought…"

"Well, she alive and alright," I assured them both. And thank the Lord for that.

Author's note: Hello everyone! I thought I would give you a chapter a bit sooner than I had originally planned. I hope you liked this update. You didn't think I'd let Mercy die, did you? :) No, no, she's one of my favourite characters.

Thank you guys for all the reviews, please write more! I love them so much :)

Xx G